March 9, 2007, Legislative and Governmental Update

Assembly Members Bill Maze (R-Visalia) and Kathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton) introduced AB 186, which extends the sunset date for the Central Valley Rural Crime Prevention Program to 2012. The program is currently set to sunset in 2009. The bill passed the Assembly Public Safety Committee on consent and is now on its way to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. CFBF supports this bill as it allows the Rural Crime Prevention Program to remain eligible for state funding until 2012. We hope that the bill continues to move as easily as it did in the Public Safety Committee.

The California Healthy Pets Act has received plenty of attention from our members. Assembly Member Lloyd Levine’s (D-Van Nuys) AB 1634 will require all cats and dogs to be spayed or neutered unless they have an intact permit issued by the local animal control authority. Dogs and cats are only eligible to receive an intact permit if they are registered with certain organizations (e.g., American Kennel Club), are guide or service dogs, or are dogs used by law enforcement. These requirements would cause problems for owners and breeders of dogs used to guard or herd livestock as they would not meet the eligibility for obtaining an intact permit. CFBF is opposed to this bill, but has expressed willingness to work with the author to address the concerns of our members.

Senator Dean Florez’s (D-Shafter) food safety bills (SB 200, SB 201, and SB 202) have been set for a hearing by the Senate Agriculture Committee on March 20th. CFBF will be attending and expressing concerns with the bills as currently drafted. Outside of the legislative process, the Leafy Green Handler Board, formed under the Marketing Agreement, continues to meet to finalize provisions of the Marketing Agreement such as assessment rates, the inspection program, and development and use of the certification mark. These decisions will be complete by the start of the new fiscal year for leafy green handlers on April 1st.